LordHamster

Depending on your reason for wanting vpn, roll your own is a good option. ASUS routers come with openvpn capability baked in. It is relatively simple to turn this on and use your own home router as a vpn server for your travels.

wco81

I have my own OpenVPN running on an ASUS router.

But their automated host name server has been offline the past week.

So a good deal on a VPN provider may be worth it.

LordHamster

You can use dyndns for the automated hostname service. Cheap and reliable. I personally have my dyndns being handled by google as my domain is hosted by google.

wco81

So I switched my ISP and OpenVPN no longer works.

But those $30-40 a year deals are no longer available or not available at the moment.

Nord offers a 3 year deal at $108 with a 30-day money back guarantee. 1 year is $84 currently so obviously they're pushing you to the 3-year for the extra $24 more.

They come out on top on several of these "best" lists but of course we know the articles are mainly to get some kickbacks for driving subscribers to the VPN sites.

Has anyone been using Nord?

Again, caveat emptor but this particular list has a nice table at the bottom showing the differences among the different services, including which ones truly do not do any kind of logging.


The other wrinkle is, some offer anonymous payment methods, like using bitcoin or sending in gift cards (though you don't get the same value as cash). But they'd know which IP you use to log into their services most of the time, though I guess the ISP would only release it under specific conditions, like suspicions of criminal activity.

Has anyone paid for commercial VPN services with anonymous payment methods?

tmiw

I feel like ISP selection shouldn't matter (at least in theory; in reality, thanks to Net Neutrality no longer being a thing, I wouldn't be surprised if your new ISP is doing stuff to block various VPNs for whatever reason). Perhaps it's possible to use a different port instead of the default? This assumes it's just a simple port number based block though.

wco81

No it's a VPN server I was running on my router.

For whatever reason, I can't connect to it now. Yes I could dig or new ports but if I can get a good enough deal, I'd be more inclined to subscribe so that I could use it both from overseas but also from home all the time.

z28lt1

I posted earlier in this thread (so don't take this as a different, second, positive for Nord) but I've been really pleased with Nord overall. The selection of servers is great and in the rare instance I have performance issues, switching servers solves it quickly. I use it on PC, iOS and Android, seems good on all.

I will say though that over the last year, more and more places seem to be blocking at least some of Nord's servers. For example, I struggle with outbound mail from one of my mail providers, Ticketmaster, and occasionally Amazon now. Sometimes switching severs help, but if I'm stuck, I generally shut it off, do what I need to do, and turn it back on.

StuckInYYZ

Take a look at this article from Torrentfreak (relax, the site is a news site that reports on various tech)... Every year they send a survey out to a set of VPN providers... May help you decide...

Which VPN Services Keep You Anonymous in 2019

https://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-s...ymous-in-2019/ <<-- In case you don't trust the link.

thatflyer

I use VyprVpn.

Has iOS app and app on Mac and PC. Works well use it to watch IPTV as well when needed.

Had it for around 1 year - zero issues.

rufflesinc

I used Torguard and worked very well overseas especially in China. But lately I've found a number of public wifi hotspots (grocery store, hospital/clinic, other businesses) where my VPN is blocked even when trying their stealth option that worked in China (!!!!)

Any suggestions for a VPN that works more consistently when others fail?

curiouspax

Here's an interesting read and kinda shows how convoluted the VPN scene can get...

https://vpnpro.com/blog/hidden-vpn-o...-23-companies/

PackingIt

A quote from the author in the comments: "We limited this research only to those parent companies that have multiple VPN products currently on the market. LTM – and many other industry-leading VPNs – doesn’t fit that bill. However, we are constantly doing research on the VPN market, and will be looking in-depth at all VPNs."

VPNs are indeed a strange business, and it really is important people do their research when choosing one.

lewinr

I have no doubt that many (maybe even most) of the biggest VPN services are run by the security services of various interested governments, and the US is no exception.

KRSW

Does anyone use a VPN service with Wireguard instead of OpenVPN? I know the GL.Inet travel routers have both built-in and it requires much fewer resources compared to OpenVPN.

Also, does anyone here use a VPN service which uses Port 443? I figured that would help bypass many VPN restrictions.

PackingIt

PIA supports using 443 with OpenVPN